Kauai Fun Facts

Feel free to use any of these Kauai fun facts for your school project, your travel arrangements or to just impress your friends with your knowledge.

1. Over 6 million years old, Kauai is the oldest and greenest of the Hawaiian Islands.

2. Kauai is the wettest of the Hawaiian Islands. This lush green island is known as “The Garden Island”.

3. Kauai is almost circular in shape with a total area of 550 square miles. The island has approximately 113 miles of coastline with almost half being sandy beaches.

4. 97% of the land in Kauai is used for agriculture and conservation. Near 70% is inaccessible by foot.

5. Mt. Wai’ale’ale is 3,000 feet high and holds the title of the wettest spot on earth. The average rainfall on Mt. Wai’ale’ale is over 435 inches per year. (This is the reason Kauai has so many huge picturesque waterfalls). The rest of the island gets some rain almost every evening or early morning.

6. Waimea Canyon is called the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific”. Waimea Canyon is almost one mile wide, ten miles long and approximately 3,600 feet deep.

7. The population of Kauai is 67,091 according to the 2010 census.

8. Kauai’s official flower is the Mokihana and the official color is purple.

9. Kauai is home to Kauai Coffee, The largest coffee plantation in the United States. The island also grows more taro (root used to make poi) than any other Hawaiian Island.

10. Kauai’s rivers are the only rivers in the Hawaiian Island chain that are navigable.

11. Kauai is home to the Menehune (Hawaiian Leprechaun). Ancient Hawaiians believed these tiny people are very lucky and hold the mystical power to perform great feats of engineering and construction.

12. Kauai is the only Hawaiian Island that is free of the mongoose.

13. Polynesians settled in Kauai around 300 AD. The first “white man”, Captain James Cook, did not arrive until 1778. His first landing in the Hawaiian Islands was in Kauai at Waimea Beach.

14. Eco friendly Kauai has strict zoning laws, one which states, No building shall be built taller than a palm tree.

15. One last Kauai Fun Fact. Did you know that more than 60 movies and Television shows have been filmed in Kauai. Some of the more notable films are: